Behind The Gun
by KaninNeko
Summary: 'Grandpa Rome' is growing old and needs to soon retire, though his only heirs are Lovino and Feliciano - both of which are extremely sheltered and shake in their boots at the sight of a gun (or at least one has the decency to try and refrain from doing so). After Arthur's escape from a previous mishap, he is deemed suitable by the head of the mafia to train the two. How? Who knows.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Simple introductions

"I'm sure you read the summary of your task and roughly get why you're here. Let me explain more thoroughly."An old, but strong man stood before Arthur, Giving off a firm smile.

"I've heard that you and some other man singlehandedly took down the leader of the Russian Mafia. Now whether you caught him off guard or not doesn't really matter, as it would still take a tremendous effort and expertise."  
He paused, and turned to look out the large window overlooking the landscape.

It was quite simple, yet lush in culture as the mediocre buildings nearby held character through shape and choice of materials. The old ones were cottage-sized and mainly built of large, stablised stone whilst the newer buildings were made of brick and stood tall with arched windows. The walls were slightly faded and worn by the weather, but it seemed almost as if they did not seem to care.

"How did you know-" Beckoned Arthur, slightly astonished before being cut off.  
"Yes, it is very sensitive and private information, but I have good ears." He then paused, waiting for any response.

"You see, I'm an old man, and I've gone far beyond my prime. My two grandsons however are young and fit enough to run a mile - the only issue is that they are about as incompetent as a chocolate teapot, as you Englishmen like to say." He chuckled a little before shooting a glance to the young man before him.

"I want you to train them to become my successors before I am forced to retire." Arthur nodded, and briefly replied, "Yes sir. If you locate me to them, I shall begin my task."

In truth, he was a little uneasy about this. Just how much would he have to do?

 _I've never been in any sort of mafia before, actually. What happened before was rather unfortunate and I barely made it without losing a limb._

Arthur noticed the roman beginning to shift away and open a door, and followed the man closely behind him.  
"Do not worry about travel; I thought it would be easier if you were to meet them here instead. They're just in the next room."  
Arthur took a deep breath and headed through the doorway.

Before him sat two italian brothers- one of them glaring at him with wary and vicious leather-coloured eyes, with a permanent scowl on his face; whilst the other was indeed very bubbly and sprung off his seat to hug and greet Arthur with a bright, cheeful smile and his cheeks rose high enough to nearly hide the slightly brighter spheres behind them.

"Ve~ You are Arthur, right? Welcome!" the cheery sibling piped.  
"Right. You must be... Feliciano?" The Italian giggled and nodded.

"That's me! Oh and this is my brother, Lovino. Say hi, Lovi~" Lovino's eyes went from his brother to the Englishman and stared before grunting and replying back to his sibling, "Non sto parlando in inglese per il bastardo tè, Feli."  
¬I'm not speaking in English for the tea bastard¬

Arthur smirked and replied, "non c'è bisogno di, parlo anche italiano."  
¬No need, I speak italian too.¬  
The darker and slightly tinted red-haired boy's scowl fell further and cursed silently.

"Now, Lovino, there's no need to be rude to your mentor. Treat him like family, but not in the sense of throwing even more insults at him", the Roman interrupted, giving his grandson a rather intimidating look of authority.

The Italian turned his gaze to the floor, bowing his head a little in acceptance. The old man patted the slightly uneasy blonde and turned around, calling out before he left, "I think I'll leave you to it. Good luck."

The last phrase made him even more unsettled, unsure of it's meaning. He sighed, looking back at the happy Italian blabbering away to him.  
"I guess we should start with what you two already know. Lovino?"

"..I know there's a lot of fighting and guns involved, sometimes I see it on the TV or in movies."  
" And It's terrible, with all the loud noise and blood and I don't like bloodshed very much- I couldn't even think of even harming a fly! Oh why has grandpa done this to us we know nothing-"

"Indeed, but that's why i'm here I guess. When would you like to start?"

Remembering his tour of the locations he would need to know of, Arthur sat down on the driver's seat and waited for the other two to put on their seatbelts.

"'Vino, you need to wear your seatbelt. Car crashes are going to be quite common, and you need to be alive to succeed your grandfather's title."

"That's right, Lovi you can't die because of refusing to wear your seatbelt because that's a lame way to die and if you want to die happy then you've got to do it in some cool way like after finding the recipe to the best pasta sauce in the world!"

Un-keen on the idea of flying out of a car after a sudden halt, the grumpier brother of the two pulled the seatbelt over him until it clicked in securely.

"Queen-loving asshole", he groaned under his breath.  
The Englishman almost immediately started driving at an average, if not slightly slower pace, ignoring the bickering and humming behind him.

After making an unnecessarily sharp right, the car rolled into an alleyway before revealing a large amount of empty space, with faded blood-stains in certain areas and miscellaneous items loitered here and there.

"Arthur I'm scared I don't like this place what are we doing here are you going to do anything to us because I can scream very loudly and the last time I did that I set off about 3 or so car alarms within the area-"

The Englishman slammed his door shut, making the finicky guy jump and whimper before refraining from speaking any further. He shuffled away from the door when it was opened, and pressed himself into his seat.

His sibling however exited the car quite calmly and walked out into the vast space.

"So what are we going to do here, tea bastard", he groaned, wishing he could be at home doing other things.

He then headed back to the car to yank the statue of an Italian with him, traumatised by his thoughts.

"I'm going to teach you the basics. Do you ever go to shooting practice?"

The repliant stayed quiet, obviously displaying that he had most likely never even used a real gun in his life.

"You two really were sheltered well, huh. Well I hear that Revolvers are quite easy to use, so I'll let the both of you practice on them."

The supposed mentor began rummaging around the rims of the area to gather materials for Dummy practice. Surprisingly there were a small stack of sandbags laying by a bunch of used bullet shells, entailing a probable gun fight with the bags as cover to hide and shoot behind.

Despite a few of the top ones blown with large holes into, the majority of the sandbags were salvageable with some in near-perfect condition. Arthur lugged a few of them to the back wall and propped them up, before looking for any sort of poles or material to suspend the sandbags in the air.  
Though not far from him there were a few hooks dug into the brick wall, possibly used as a wall mount for larger, more powerful guns in dire situations. Nevertheless, he lifted the bags once again and shoved one onto the actual hook, resembling the body, and bag slouching on top, slightly hinting at the possibility of a head.

"Vino, Felici, you can collect your guns now."

The duo slowly shuffled towards him, with the ever-so-slightly-recollected boy sheepishly smiling and nervously laughed, "Y-you know I thought English people hate guns and don't use them anymore".

"It's true that I think they are immoral, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use one."

The emerald-eyed man picked up a gun for himself, inserted the magazine, cocked the gun and pulled the trigger.

 **Boom.**

Writer's Note  
So this is most likely going to be in more depth than my last story, as I have a thicker plot to run on. However I don't think I can keep this to only a weekly posting with the amount of coursework I've been given (seriously it's too much _ ) which means I may push it back to once a fortnight. No promises, though!

 **EDIT** : I've decided to do what I did with Underneath The Mask edit-wise, and I shall space these chapters out more. I just read this note above, and if I would I'd post a 'laughing and crying at the same time' gif. _Because I kept you waiting for MONTHS, not_ weeks. But I suppose I kept myself waiting too. Ahh, procrastination at its finest.


	2. Chapter 2 - Gun practice

Chapter two: Gun practice

The petrified italian was hushed by the sound of the gunshot, as his legs turned to jelly and his knees buckled, sending him to the floor.  
The Englishman looked over to him in a gaze that seemed half confused and half worried. He walked over to the boy, and tugged his arm.

"Per favore, non uccidermi!"

 _¬Please, don't kill me!¬_ , the weak-hearted man cried.

"I won't kill you, I'm here to teach you how to kill."

Feliciano stopped sobbing upon hearing the disturbing phrase, and stood back up, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Non permetterò neanche di te due essere ucciso."  
 _¬I will not let either of you two be killed.¬_

Arthur then gave the other person a chance to recollect himself before looking over to Lovino. He was definitely nervous but was doing his best to keep his composure in front of his brother and the bushy-browed man before him.

"'Vino, it's your turn."

The auburn-haired fellow nodded and turned to the practice dummy, and tried his best to line up with it.

"A tad to the right, otherwise you might miss the heart and just puncture the lung, which will still lead the person to die, but much slower and they will still be able to shoot you. Remember, the heart is not in the middle of your upper torso."

"Shut up bastard, I know that."

The easily agitated Italian scooted over and steadied his hands.  
He mimicked the gestures Arthur made with the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet cut through the air and into the bag of sand.

"Good, but that was a little too high. I'll get a pen or something to mark the bags with."

The blonde disappeared for a few moments before reappearing with a black marker pen and drew out the lungs and the heart on the 'body'.

"I get it, scone-man. You don't need to label the damn things too" , the maroon-eyed boy grunted, obviously insulted by the 'mentor'.

After a few rounds of target practice on the dummy, Lovino had ran out of his alloted ration of bullets, implying that is was now his brother's turn.

Feliciano warily stepped over to where Arthur stood, and turned towards the bags of sand that were tearing apart by the amount of holes ripped into it.

"Uhm Arthur I think I forgot what you did with your gun to make it shoot. I mean, I know that to actually shoot you pull this thing here but you do have to do stuff before it right? I don't know so-"

The ever-so-slightly older man stepped forward and sighed a miniscule amount, although he knew this was going to happen.

"That's fine. First you need to check if you have any bullets left in the barrel -this bit here- of the gun by pushing it until it pops out a little like this. As you can see, all the chambers are empty, so we get bullets that I've handed over to you and push them in."

He waited for the fretful Italian to do so, before visually showing him how to cock the gun, aim, and shoot. Feliciano then gave the sandy haired man a worried look, before being reassured with a nod, and took a few steps closer to the dummy.

" I-I can't shoot it, it's innocent and has done nothing wrong and I feel bad for shooting something that hasn't done any harm", he whined and dropped his unsteady arm.

Arthur sighed.

 _How on Earth will I get this bloody person to end up shooting people if I can't even make him shove a few bullets into something as basic and inanimate as sandbags?_  
 _They can't hurt him or anything! Wait a moment.._

"I Should've been called Sherlock" Arthur smugly muttered to himself before looking back to the reluctant guy next to him.

"Well why don't you come over and say hello to it then?"  
He gestured, with the respondantly sheepishly agreeing.

As they walked up to the pair of tattered sandbags, Feliciano stood directly in front whilst the blond-haired man took to the side of the makeshift mannequin.

"Ve~ Ciao I am Feliciano and -Ow!", The chocolate-haired Italian whined, the sandbag hitting him in the stomach.  
Arthur quickly let go of the sandbag to make sure the other didn't notice, before informing him "You see, you didn't know if it was really good or bad, and now you've taken that gamble you got hurt. That's why you've got to protect yourself and hit first, especially when there are real people wanting to do much worse."

"B-but why can't we just say sorry and be friends?"

"-Because that's not how the world works anymore. Maybe when you were a kid it was easy to resolve grudges and fights, but as you get older those grudges turn into hatred and fights into feuds."

Feliciano started to sulk. He didn't want to hurt anybody, to see shock and pain amongst other awful expressions mask their faces.  
"Ve- sorry Arthur. But I can't do it" he spoke out honestly to the emerald eyed man, his own tears blurring his vision of the Englishman.

Arthur pitied him, and knew that there was no point in pushing him.

"...All right. - 'Vino wake the fuck up! You're not supposed to be sleeping!"

Noticing the lazier Italian's limpish body he stomped over to him, and pulled the dark maroon-haired boy's ear.

"Oww ow Feli get off me you piece of shit" Lovino declared, half asleep. As he opened his eyes he realised it wasn't it brother, the man before him's eyebrows are far too large.

"Who the fuck- ow stop it you bastard!"

Arthur grunted, and stepped back to let the Italian slide off the rows of crates.  
"You shouldn't be sleeping, you can laze around all the fuck you like at home but when you're out there's no way in hell i'm letting you slack off. Now come on, practice is over for the day."

The blond moaned, aggravated by the slightly younger man dozing off. He pivoted around and strode back to the car, with the siblings bobbing behind him.

.~.~..~.~.

"Here's your stop", Broke out the bushy-browed bloke, waiting for the two to exit the car.

"But Arthur aren't you living here too? We have a bunch of empty rooms you can put your stuff in and sleep in too!"

Feliciano had gotten out of the car and was standing by the driver's seat's car door beaming at Arthur to come out with them.

"But I think I've got all my stuff back in my hotel room, and I'm too tired to carry it over here. ...I guess I can stay for a little while", Arthur gave in, not being able to say 'no' to those puppy-dog eyes of his.

 _I need to learn how to ignore those, because I can't let him get his way with everything. But it's going to be blimming hard since he's so good at it._

Arthur hopped out of the black car, and looked at his reflection in the tinted windows.

 _Why am I even doing this? I barely know anything myself, and everything that I can teach them will just be guesswork!_

"Ve~ Arthur?"  
The friendly Italian called out to him, waiting for him to follow himself back to the mansion.

The blonde's bubble soon popped when he realised the two were waiting for him (well not really, since Lovino already left the two to go inside) , and swiftly nodded before strolling behind the nonchalant guy who already broke into a skip.

It was a grand, honey-coloured building that had pillars upholding the porch and two large marble steps up to the building. Windows decorated the walls, along with a dark, rich brown roof and doors accentuating the building.

Beside it were many bushes and flowers, painted a variety of blossoming colours and shades. Not too far away was an orange tree, that seemed perfect for hiding away from the sun, and held many purposes.  
One of those was a swing, with a large, slightly higher up branch supporting two thick ropes attack to a strong plank of wood.

 _How ironic_ , Arthur chuckled to himself, and stepped up two the two large doors bidding their permission for him to enter.

They had beautiful patterns carved into them, some swiggles, some squares and at the top was two big, blooming roses cut into the rich wood. The golden handle also had flower patterns on it, embossed and delicately smooth to the touch. It was as if it was brand new, no scratches or anything.

"Oh the handle? Ve~ It's very pretty, and it only just got put on today, since I scratched the last one", Feliciano blurted out with a guilty giggle.

 _Oh, I guess that explains it then._

As he stepped inside he was met with a marvellously clean marble floor and gold scattered here and there. Gold bannisters, gold coffee-table -pretty much a lot of stuff was gold with a shiny sheen.

"I might have to wear sunglasses in here", Arthur joked, as Feliciano stood watching the clock and Lovino lounged on the pristine sofa.

They both grunted in reply, one sounding friendlier than the other. He sat down, waiting for a maid to pass by.  
"A cup of tea please. Milky, one sugar."

"Ooh are you going to have a crumpet too?", Lovino mocked, laughing to himself.

Arthur tutted, and replied, "No. In fact, I'm going to have a few biscuits to dunk into my tea."

"Soggy... Biscuits?" The Italian questioned, half confused, half disgusted

.  
"Yes, it's quite nice actually. Even better if you have Digestive biscuits- they're these little wheat biscuits with a chocolate layer on top- and they are amazing to dip in a hot beverage!"

The other male rolled his eyes, muttering "You're just as bad as my brother, you won't shut up."

Arthur scowled at him, but decided not to moan.  
 _I'll save it for later._

Suddenly a massive squeal of glee echoed through the house.

"PASTA TIME~!"

A blur scattered into the dining room, like a dog hearing it's food being taken out of the secure hiding area. Lovino stood up, after his sibling nearly knocked over a maid.

"It's dinner time. I need to control that idiot before he goes trying to raid the kitchen again."

"Oh, what are we having for tea then? I know it's pasta, but I mean as in what dish", The English man replied, as he walked through into the room Feliciano ran to.

Lovino gave him an odd look again, not accustomed to the Englishman's sayings.

"Supper", Arthur elaborated, slightly annoyed.  
Both of them then looked at him as if he was speaking gibberish.

"Dinner, for goodness sake!" He fumed, irritated that neither of them had any clue as to what he was saying.

"Ve~ We're eating Spaghetti and meatballs", the over-excited Italian giggled.

 **Notes:** _Other biscuits are available._

Writer's Note:  
This chapter is far too long, so I'm just going to leave it here. It was my mother's birthday yesterday, so we all went to the pub and enjoyed ourselves over a nice dinner :3


	3. Chapter 3: English Punks & Italian dolls

Chapter 3: English punks and Italian dolls

As the three men finished their dinners, Arthur looked at his watch for an excuse to retire back into his hotel room.

"Oh, look at the time- I should probably get going now, before it gets too late", he pardoned himself, as he rose out of his chair.

"No worries, Ve~ I already called for your stuff to be transferred to here; It should all be in the room at the far end of the corridor on the second floor."

Feliciano beamed with a devious grin holding his phone which displayed the text conversation. Arthur read the screen, flabbergasted by this new and unexpected side of the normally innocent and bubbly Italian.

He gave Lovino a look of confusion, hoping for some form of an explanation, but he just looked down and played with his fork on the plate.

As the Italian siblings woke up the next morning, they were greeted by a butler escorting them to the large walk-in closet they had a few rooms down. Inside an emerald-eyed man with a green and black suit to match stood before them, frowning at their bedheads and choice of night-wear.

"Good morning, Vargas brothers. Today we are going to work on your attire. Measurements will not be needed," Arthur added as he walked towards them, "I already got them from your grandfather and ordered a few suits in advance. Go ahead and put one of these on, without the help of your butlers and maids, and return to me once dressed."

Lovino groaned, preferring to throw on whatever he sees instead of being all fancy.

"And why the fuck should I?" He retorted, pulling into a scowl.

Arthur's eye twitched, as he civilly answered, "Because it is proper etiquette. That, and I thought you would've noted that _all mafia bosses wear suits, If you say you've seen mafias in films already_."

Arthur nearly hissed in his response, clearly displeased by the boy before him asking why one should dress smartly.

"Sheesh. _Sorry to tread on your toes, miss perfect_." Lovino chuckled quietly, as he passed by the fuming Englishman.

The Italian siblings remerged with black pearl suits and crimson red shirts, along with _awfully tied ties_.

Arthur sighed and headed over to the two, readjusting the string of fabric along their necks.  
Feliciano giggled and apologised, knowing that even if he was taught how to tie it he couldn't.

The grumpy Englishman stepped over to Lovino next, and noticed a stray curl sticking out of his hair.  
 _Bloody stubborn Italian, I already told you to dress smart!_ Arthur scowled and started pulling the silky strand in every direction.

"Ah-Hey stop it you asshole!" Lovino fumed, his face resembling a tomato.

"Now you just wait a minute. I told you that those who work in the Mafia do not look scruffy, and here you are not giving a shit about your hair or your tie. So If you can't fix it, I guess I have to fix it instead. Whether it hurts or not."

He then pulled further down the rouge piece of hair to try and tuck it behind his hair, but to no avail. "S-Stop it! Per favoure.." Lovino averted his eyes and had begun panting, leaving Arthur extremely confused.

"Arthur", the other Italian called out, looking troubled and gesturing for him to come over. Feliciano then whispered into his ear to explain the strange behaviour and the untameable long curls.

the blonde immediately blushed in embarrassment, letting go of the strand and apologising without an end. The other blushing bloke just nodded and fled from the room, hiding his face as he went.

"I really wish that was in the notes" the emerald eyed person added, guilt and embarrassment showing all over his face. "Felici, do you mind checking on your brother?"

Feliciano smiled, and replied "Ve~ he'll be okay, talking to him whilst he still angry won't help anything" He chuckled before admitting, "Though you could say he's always a little angry."

After a little break and chat, Lovino re-joined the two, seeming to have settled down.

"Are we actually doing anything today?" He called out grumpily, fiddling with the lapels of his blazer.

"Of course. You two are going to be my pretty little dolls trying on all the outfits I give you", Arthur replied, chuckling at what he could give them before they begin to refuse. _I wonder if they would put on those horse-mask things if I gave them the command. But if they do, I'm definitely taking a photo of that._

"And please, stop playing with your lapels, or you're going to ruin them." he added, turning his head back to face his cup of tea.  
The Italian looked away, grunting and moved his hands to his lap.

"Right, back to work you two".  
The foreigner stood up and was heading back to the walk-in closet.

"I'm not here for nothing, you know."

The siblings got back up, one bouncing down the hall whist the other was dragged along behind him, not wanting to play 'dress-up'.  
The two was next handed more casual outfits, Lovino wore a denim jacket dyed black with a plain white t-shirt and baggy jeans, whilst Feliciano had a beige hoodie and again, baggy jeans.

The duo were quite confused with this, not sure why they were being asked to wear such average clothes.

Arthur saw this look on their faces and sighed, explaining, "This is for if you're casually going undercover or just going out in general. Bright, fascinating clothes will make people notice you.  
This way, it'll be harder for other people to remember you."

Feliciano nodded in delight, once realising his hoodie was soft and fluffy.

"Ve~ It's like i'm hugging a cloud", he nonchalantly spoke, hugging it and rubbing the fabric on his cheek.

Lovino just shrugged and headed off to go change, pulling his brother along with him. The two returned soon enough, satisfied with the look.  
The two looked at each other, nodding, before looking back at the man in front of them again with grins on their faces.

"Arthur~ Since you're getting us to put on all these different clothes, we thought maybe you could join in too!"

"Yeah, and we'll pick the clothes for you to wear."

"Don't worry, if you won't comply, we'll put it on for you!"

Arthur took a step back, unsure about this.  
And especially that last phrase. _How do you seem so innocent when you say menacing things like that? God, you really are the grandsons of the head of the Mafia._  
He sighed as the two conversed, gathering the clothes for him to wear.

He returned to them in the new attire, wearing skinny black jeans, red converse shoes, a studded belt and jacket to match, with green and black headphones slung around his neck and a ripped-style shirt with the words 'I'm not okay' plastered on the front. The other two sputtered, taking photos as they did.

"I bet you he casually wears this in his own home" Lovino added, looking away and covering his mouth to hide his laughter.  
Arthur almost immediately snapped back, childishly yelling, "I do not!" at them, only making the pair laugh even more.

"Why the bloody hell do you even have these clothes anyway? Surely you wouldn't put electronics in here either.

Feliciano tried to respond between his fits of laughter, gasping, "Fancy dress. I went as a punk whilst Lovi was a full-on metal-head!"

This caused Arthur to start laughing too, imagining Feliciano as a punk with possible fake-tattoo stickers on his cheeks and Lovino with long black hair.

Writer's note:  
I'm sorry for stereotyping, but let's face it: Long hair is ideal when you're a metalhead since it means you can headbang better! Come on, I know these stereotypes because I am them. Or at least I look like a goth without the black hair and listen to both XD.  
Honestly writing this up every fortnight seems to be working out much better than the rushed, weekly post (although I doubt they seem any different) and now I have two of my friends beta-reading for me so I can see how it appeals to my audience, especially since this is his 'cup of tea' (even though I reckon he'd drink coffee, since no Americans drinks tea as far as I know).


	4. Chapter 4: Alleyway cat

Chapter 4: Alleyway cat

A few months had passed by, and things were going smoothly.

The trio had worked their way into a routine of what training on which day. Today was learning how to navigate through the alleyways.

Arthur had already led them into a very narrow gap which narrowed even further the deeper they walked in. When they came to a point where it became impassable by walking normally, The Englishman stopped in his tracks to face the two.

"This is a dead end, you fucking idiot. Even a blind person could tell it this is the wrong way!" Fumed Lovino, backing up to turn around and storm off.

Arthur tutted, and stated "There are more than two ways to go along alleyways", watching the two stare at him attentively.  
"Ve~ you mean we go up?" Feliciano quizzed, after a moment of thinking.

Mr. Kirkland grinned, and jumped up to latch his hands onto the top of the brick wall, hoisting himself up.  
"That's right, Felici."

The blonde kneeled down and held one hand on the brick wall to stabilise himself, and held the other out to the sibling closest to him. The bubbling Italian took the offer and bounced up onto the wall, calling for his brother to join him.

Lovino scowled, reluctantly climbing on top of the red with white-grey-ey yellow cemented-in surface. The fellow with forest green eyes pivoted around and started walking, with the other two in pursuit.

Honestly, Athur had no idea what he was doing or where he was going, but it was quite exciting nonetheless.

The other two didn't know that, _or at least Feliciano didn't_ , Arthur chuffed.

The trio walked along the wall, hopping up and down when it changed height. They eventually came to a halt in their side of the wall, and came face-to-face with a house too tall to scale instead.

"Oh, great. Mr. 'I know the way' got us fucking lost", came the sharp tone from a sarcastic Italian mouth.

Feliciano shrugged, and leapt across to the other side.

It was a narrow gap, but at least 2 floors high. He giggled and said, "Andiamo!", bouncing along, waiting for the others to follow.

They both hopped together, though slightly reluctant. After a while the wall lowered and the passage widened up again, of which they could slide back down. The two did so, leaving the North Italian crouching down and touching something on the wall.

"We didn't jump down for no reason, Felici. Come- I think we're near the way out." Arthur called, but no words responded to him. Instead, a mew came out from the thing the hazel-eyed boy was stroking.

"What a pretty kitty, Ve~!" The small ball of fur was a little scruffy and looked like a stray, but was as friendly as a normal domestic one, purring and loving the attention. Lovino sighed, becoming impatient as his neck started to ache from staring upwards.

"Feli, move before I pull you down. I want to go home, this is boring now." Feliciano nodded and slipped off the brick, patting the kitten before they went.

As the passage widened, light poured out towards them, getting stronger and making the objects ahead of them clearer as they went.

When they neared the exit, a beautiful scene was painted before them, with sun-tanned bricks laying upon the floor, reaching up to a beautiful public fountain that elegantly poured out water into the small lake below.

Not too far from it a large, marble building stood formidably before them, resting upon perfectly aligned pillars that connected to broad stairs. The people were the life of the place, bustling about in bright colours and loud voices.

Markets were held, selling everything from cheeses to soaps, and the stalls brilliantly reflected the vendors.

"I suppose this is the town centre. It looks truly beautiful, contradicting itself in a manner that is harmonious to both the environment and the people", commented the awe-stricken man, standing beside the siblings.

But not for long however, as the two soon dashed over to view what was being sold. _I think I'll just sit by the fountain, They probably know this area enough to not get lost_. Arthur took out his wallet and made a wish before popping it into the tranquil waters below.

An hour passed by, and Arthur had fallen asleep on the rim of the fountain. Unfortunately, he was the kind of person to wriggle about in his sleep and had been this way and that, threatening to fall onto the floor.

This time however he kicked back and took a loud, shocking splash into the freezing cold water. He shot up, giving a small cry from the quick change in temperature and hopped out before realising what was going on.

By the time he looked down at his clothes he had recollected the sudden event and was loudly cursing whilst violently shaking his sleeves.

"Fucking pool shouldn't be so cold, the little shit. It's not as shallow as it looked either! They should fucking put a sign up or something, I could have drowned!"

A loud laugh was heard nearby, walking closer to him. The mauve-eyed man was holding a basket of tomatoes, mocking the blond foreigner.

"We don't need a sign", chortled the bloke, "We're not stupid enough to fall in!"

Arthur muttered something under his breath as he scowled as Lovino, as if waiting for him to tell him how to dry himself off.

No such luck however, as this provoked him to take out his phone a take a picture before the Englishman threatened to snatch it off him and throw it into the fountain as well.

"Where's your brother?" Questioned Arthur, looking around for a particularily bubbly Italian man.

"I dunno, I'm not his keeper", moaned Lovino, who wanted to buy more stuff but the paler-skinned man pulled him away from the stalls for strengthening 'self-control'.

"You look for him yourself if you wanna find him, telling me to fucking maintain self-control. 'Self-control' my ass!"

The stroppy Italian stomped away from the accuser before such proclaimed accuser grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him along to find the missing third person.

After a while of sifting through crowds, they finally came to a sandy-shaded bench which was occupied by an Italian and a kitten sharing a plate of pasta. Said Italian heard footsteps approaching towards him and spotted the two, enthusiastically waving with a fork in his hand. The duo quickened their pace, and greeted the boy.

"Ve~ the kitten followed me!" Feliciano sang, shoving pasta into his mouth.

"Can we keep it? I think it doesn't belong to anyone", he begged, looking at them with big, puppy-dog eyes.

One member of the current jury shrugged, having a soft spot for cats, whilst the other groaned, judging the question as if it determined their future. He finally let a sigh escape and nodded, but with a request in return.

"Only if you promise that you solely will take care of it. I don't really want any liabilities; it creates weaknesses. But you can have the kitten, it'll expand your experience, I guess."

Feliciano, having finished his pasta, put the plate aside before grasping and hugging the sodden man before letting go, a little damp himself now.

"Grazie, Grazie! Io prometto!" The kitten also mewed in gratitude, looking quite excited, unsure as to what is going on but had a desire to play shining in it eyes.

Author's Note:  
I know I haven't posted in months, and I sincerely apologise, but I just lacked motivation. I feel like those who read my stories only do it because they have nothing else to do, instead of reading them because they genuinely like them. However I have noticed there are some more people who have favorited this, and I wholly thank you all.


	5. Chapter 5 - Freedom in betrayal?

Chapter 5: Freedom in betrayal?

A fist firmly tapped the cold, hard wood, making a hollow sound. Lovino opened one eye to see if anyone else is around to answer the door; and found himself with Arthur, who is in a deep sleep, chest covered by a book he was most likely reading and a small kitten hitting his face. His brother is sat on the armchair next to his, giggling as he studied his kitten jumping about.

 _Ugh, even if I get Feli to get it, he'll just call to me in uncertainty (or the other person will if they know us- Fel loves to chat with friends)._  
Pushing out of the sofa he was slouching on and letting his feet land onto the ground, he stormed over to the front door, irritated that none of the maids or butlers have bothered either.

"What do you want", he barked as he opened the large, dark brown panel in front of him.  
"Young boss, I recommend you get your brother and that man you hired. We've.. got a problem."

The man with chocolate-coloured hair that was tinted red strode back into the room; his faced tensed and filled with confusion, with a bit of dread. He heard someone yell and mumble curse words as he stepped inside, The kitten biting Arthur's nose and the man struggling to pull it off his face as the furry being digs it claws into his face as an effort to stay put.

"Feli, get your damn cat off his face. We got someone from our 'family' that needs to talk about something."  
"Agh- thank you Felici." The blonde sighed, wincing at the little marks littered over his face. His expression immediately hardened when he looked over to the Italian's brother, taking in what he said with complete seriousness.

"What did he tell you when you spoke to him?" Arthur questioned.  
"... He said we 'have a problem' ", The weary Italian replied.

The trio stepped out of the car, and were escorted into a wearhouse. Every inch of this place, this situation, reeked of violence and had a strong smell of blood.

"L-lovino, I don't like t-this" Feliciano quivered to his brother, walking closely to him but trying not to be too far behind the Englishman.  
"Don't worry", Arthur cut in.

"Neither of you will have to do anything here. I'm supposed to protect you, after all, aren't I?" He smiled, but his eyes were already cold.

As the lights were turned on, the door was slid shut behind them; and two men in smart suits, stained crimson in spatters on their shirts and gloves, stood before the three with a man kneeled on the floor. Blood ran down his cheek and his chin, and he had pursed his mouth shut, despite the pain he was in.

"Il talpa lui disse un altro ganga circa la nostra situazione" _¬The mole told another gang about our situation¬_ , said the first member, speaking two the brothers.

"Egli è stato punito, Cosa dovremmo fare adesso?" _¬He has been punished, what shall we do now?¬_

Feliciano was on the verge of crying, but he was too shocked at the state of the man to do anything.

"Let him go."

Lovino stared at him as if the boy had lost his mind.  
" _Do you know how much trouble he could have caused for us?!_ He has **betrayed** our family!"

Feliciano locked his eyes with his brothers, filled with tears and mercy. " ** _Don't you think he's gone through enough already?_** **LOOK AT HIM!** " The Italian screamed at his brother, a pained expression contorting his face.

"Please. I can't bear it, he's been hurt so much. If anything happens to us, it will be my fault."

Lovi sighed, and turned to nod at Arthur and the two men.

Arthur gave the brothers a small smile of hope before walking closer to the two and leading them back out the door. _However the siblings didn't see the blond turning his head back and giving a curt nod, and as they drove away, a banging noise echoed past the warehouse._

 **Notes:**

 _If you know a better translation for the Italian phrases, notify me and I can change it. I know they aren't probably very accurate at the moment._

 **Writer's Note:**

Yes, it has been a while. Yes, this chapter is very short. Yes, I lost motivation.

But I have come back, and I have a better idea of how to continue this story. I didn't have writer's block, but I didn't feel like anybody particularly favoured this story either. The chapter here is mainly to build up tension for the later chapters, and it's the real starting point.

Agh, I'm in year 11 now. You know what that means! **Exams!** _Oh yay_.


	6. Chapter 6: Teasing the Bull

Chapter 6: Teasing a bull

"Arthur?" A curious voiced begged him.

"Are you okay? You're like a statue, even your skin is cold!" A tan finger began prodding his cheek, trying to get his attention away from the newspaper the blond seemed so blankly fixated on.

Finally, the Englishman turned his glazed-over glare to meet the Italian's, sharpening immediately and hitting the boy like a dagger. Feliciano flinched at the sudden turn of his head, retracting his hand in case the man were to bite it; given the dangerous glean in his eye.

"Feliciano, I need time to myself. Things need to be revaluated, since that occurrence there signals that things won't be so easy from here on out."  
"Ve~ We'll be okay! Zio Arthur will protect us!"  
"I won't be here forever. You've got to remember I'm only here to train you and your brother."

"But why~" The childish Italian whined. Arthur was getting tired of this, in fact he was getting tired of this whole ordeal.

"Because I never asked for this! I wanted another job, yes, but not where I can loose my head! But since I managed to escape the clutches of that despicable man people thought I must be someone amazing with oodles of talent! But I'm not and I don't have anything special to offer! For goodness sakes, I'm just some man with an unfortunate job, nothing less and nothing more."

"B-but... You are special! You're kind and even though me and my brother aren't the easiest of people to work with, you still try! That means a lot to me, and even though Lovi doesn't show it, he's actually having a lot of fun."

The Italian jumped over the armrests to hug Arthur, crumpling the poor newspaper that the Englishman was holding up. The grassy-eyed guy was a bit shocked by the sudden contact and wriggled around a bit, until the other person let go and perched on his armrest. Feli smiled at his mentor, wiping his eyes a little due to his eyes being too quick to cry.

The next day, Arthur took the duo out to the shooting grounds again. Even though it hadn't been too long since they had been training there, he had become uneasy of using the place due to the mole, and nobody knew just yet how much the mole had told of their mafia to someone else.  
However he didn't want the two in the mansion either, as that would be far too dangerous due to this mole would definately know most -if not all- of their houses and hideouts by now. I think he had help in transport, some of the maids were talking about it. He must've travelled between them a lot.

"Right, boys, today you're going to learn how to fight close-combat with a knife. After you can do it properly, I'll then show you-"  
"Nyastaaa~" came the hungry miaow out of Feliciano's whiskered friend. It then began circling around their legs, purring for attention.  
"Felici, please! Leave your cat at home, I don't want to accidentally kick the fur ball into the air!"  
"Ve~sorry! It just followed me into the car and I couldn't get it out because its claws are very very sharp and the dig into my legs", apologised the gun-fearing Italian.

"As I was saying, here are your switchblades. Make sure to hold them like this when you flip them up- otherwise you'll get a horrible cut across your fingers." Flipping up his own knife, he passed two knives over to the brothers.  
"Now it's your turn."

Lovino managed to open it quite easily, though his grip afterwards was a bit too tight on the handle.  
"Ah, you need to loosen your fingers around the knife. You want it tight enough to grip, but loose enough to gain momentum and swiftness. Unless you're going to stab someone 'murderer style'", Arthur chuckled.

Feliciano then tried to open it, but flinched when it snapped up, nearly dropping the dagger. "I-it's very quick , heh. D-do I really have to use this?" He carefully examined the knife; his face paling slightly as he saw his own reflection in the blade.

"Yes. If you can't use a gun, this is your next best option." The straw-haired man grumbled.

After showing the two the dummies and Lovino stabbing them a few times, Arthur decided to bring them to do some close-combat.  
"Drop your blades! I've got some batons to show you how to use your weapons when someone gets a little too close and personal" , He grinned deviously.

"The fuck you're smiling for? It's creeping me out, you scone-maker."

The Cheshire grinning man walked over to him and bashed the wooden baton on the offenders head before giving it to him, retorting, "Oi, there's nothing wrong with my scones!", and taking a pace back before throwing one to the more-airheaded boy, and then proceeded to taunt the bullish Italian by his stance.

The bull, taking the initiative, charged towards his English matador, harshly replying "Do you even have taste buds? Or even eyes? They are disgusting in every manner!"

The matador however leapt to the side and slapped the bull's back, irritating it further. He then took his turn to approach, kneeing the bull in the stomach as it spun around to face him.  
"First lesson: Don't keep your body too open and don't diss my scones."

Lovino hissed, slightly keeling over and hugging his abdomen tight. "I can diss whatever I want, you're no boss of me", he yelled, before charging again towards the gleaming emerald eyed man. Such man however hopped again, this time stretching his leg out to trip the guy up. "For goodness sakes, would you stop charging at me? What do you expect to do, Body slam me? Pretend I'm some rounder's ball and strike me whilst running? Not even rounder's players begin to run until after they've hit the ball."

"Shut your fucking mouth, you're giving me a headache!", A bad-tempered mafia-boss-to-be yelled, standing up and wiping the dirt off his clothes. He instead took a large step towards him and aimed to strike the man's shoulder. Half-flinching, he leaned back to avoid the stick like it had some deadly disease on it and accidentally head-butted the Italian on the way back. Both of them suffered this time, as the air turned into a thick fog of blue.

The sparring came to a sudden halt however when two figures appeared from the shadows. Two tall men: one somewhat nervous and uncomfortable with short, chocolate hair and olive green eyes; the other smug with a sooted-brownish hair in a ponytail and hazel eyes, pulled into a devilish smirk.

"Well hello there!" He bared a thick Spanish accent, sounding a little too happy.  
"No greeting? How rude. Well a little bird, or I suppose a mole, told me that the old man wishes to retire and wished to greet you two in advance!"

Feliciano, closer to the Spanish men than the others, quickly belted to make cover behind his brother and mentor. Unfortunately, his kitten had been sleeping next to him and awoke after the loud rustling, but completely unaware of the situation.

"Heh, maybe I should also give you a message. Antonio, grab the cat." The Spaniard gestured to the kitten, unholstering his gun with his other hand. Puffing up, it tried to make a dash for Feliciano however the now-named Spaniard clasped it and held it up by it's scruff. His face slouched into a frown, not wanting to offer the cat.

"No creo que esto es una buena idea" _¬I don't think this is a good idea¬_ , he whispered, uneasy about harming such an innocent creature.  
"Oh really? shame you have no authority over me. Now hold it high, over here-" The devious Spanish man spat, directing his arm to where he wanted the kitten held.

"Can you guess my message? No? Well here it is."

 **Bang.**

 _ **"Don't mess with us, or this will happen to you."**_

Antonio -mainly out of shock- dropped the cat immediately afterwards, letting the fresh carcass hit the floor; blood and mush leaking from it's head. The pool of red slowly expanded. Pure, innocent blood - Oozing out on the floor in a puddle before them all.

A hand swiped Arthur's gun from his belt and handled it like a pro, taking off the safety and cocking it to aim at the Spanish murderer's head.  
"That- That was an innocent life you just took. It doesn't deserve death! But you- You definitely do. _vediamo all'inferno_."

The hand- the voice: _Feliciano's_. His once happy and peaceful face was contorted in the most despicable way and darkened. Tears ran from his cheeks, but so did blood after he pulled the trigger.

The Spanish man collapsed to the floor, his 'friend' in shock, as he began to tremble. They all did, some more than others.  
The unbubbled person fell to his knees; dropping the gun. Nobody spoke a word as Arthur placed a hand on his shoulder, his brother gently lifting him back onto his feet.

Normally he'd wail and almost-scream when he was really upset. At this moment the smooth breeze was louder than he, but his mouth hung open.

"Maybe I'm ready now, Arthur."

That was all he spoke.

The duo stared at him, bewildered and pitiful. He broke into a small smile, trying to wipe the blood and tears from his face. His brother helped, wiping off as much blood as he could from him.

Of course, it had left stains on both his skin and clothes. Those require a more thorough wash, and so it had to be left for now.

The Spaniard apologised almost silently in his own tongue, as if he was being choked, before backing away and running.

"Let's go home." The mentor consoled the two and nudged them to go to his car.

Feliciano paused before picking up his pet, and answered, "I want to bury him."

 **Notes:**

 _Cheshire grin -_ Referring to the large grin of the Cheshire Cat, from Alice in Wonderland.

 _Rounders-_ A British sport, somewhat a hybrid of cricket and baseball.

 **Writer's note:**

I'm not declaring this as my end-of-hiatus, since I don't know what I'm doing for the next chapter _at all._ I'm also currently doing the exams part of my GCSE's, so I'm focusing things on my schoolwork a lot more.

Well, that chapter sure took a dark turn! It'll make Feliciano much for co-operative though, which is better flowing for the plot.


End file.
